1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to handles, and more particularly, to an improved door handle for a refrigerator cabinet.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventional door handles for refrigerator cabinets include a base portion and a decorative insert. One such handle is described in Roberts U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,141. The door handle described therein includes a pair of mounting brackets and an elongated extruded aluminum bar. A decorative insert having a wood grain vinyl cover snaps over the bar. Such an arrangement is disadvantageous in that the bar must be a straight extruded member, therefore requiring the bar to be spaced from the refrigerator cabinet door over its entire length.
For aesthetic reasons it is desirable to provide a contoured handle with only a portion of the handle being spaced from the cabinet door while the remaining portions of the handle directly abut the door.
It is known to provide such a contoured refrigerator door handle with a handle base formed of plastic or cold rolled steel. Such a handle base can be easily molded or formed to most any desirable shape. A decorative plastic or steel insert having a vinyl cover thereon is then placed over the handle base. The use of such an insert permits the appearance of the door handles on different refrigerators to be readily varied. It is necessary in such a construction to utilize steel or plastic in the base to provide grooves or channels within which a the insert can snap into place. Alternatively, end caps must be provided to retain the insert and handle base in assembled relation. However, the use of steel or plastic for the handle base results in a door handle which is undesirably flexible in nature. When an individual pulls on the handle to open the door, there will be some "give" in the handle due to the flexible nature of the handle base.
The present invention overcomes these and other problems of prior refrigerator cabinet door handles, in a novel and simple manner.